Ricci Seguban has her hands full, and that’s putting it lightly.
The freshman general engineering student from Washington is involved in numerous student organizations and extracurricular activities. She said getting involved in engineering programs and university organizations has enriched her experience at Texas A&M University and has given her a broader perspective on what she’d like to accomplish in her career.
“I like trying new things and learning from them,” she said. “It comes down to time management and figuring out a balance between your studies and extracurriculars.”
Seguban’s extracurricular activities
When Seguban isn’t in class, studying or taking pop-up classes at the Engineering Innovation Center, she might be found working with her fellow VEX U teammates, developing a robot design for their upcoming competition at Rice University. The team, sponsored and mentored by the Women in Engineering (WE) Program, has allowed Seguban the opportunity to learn about computer programming.
“I tried to self-teach myself computer languages coming into my freshman year, but this is better because I can get a solid understanding,” she said. “I wanted to learn more about coding. Here, I can actually apply it.”
While Seguban plans to major in chemical or industrial engineering, her interest in engineering is very broad. Her end goal, she said, is to find a job that allows her to design devices that will benefit people in developing countries.
“I’ve always thought about that because my parents are from the Philippines, and that’s a developing country,” she said.
In high school, Seguban participated in a summer project developing hypothetical solutions for people without access to clean water. That is what initially sparked her interest.
“I always felt like I wanted to do that, to impact other countries that are less fortunate than we are,” she said.
A career like that goes beyond engineering, and Seguban would like to enroll in business classes and work with interdisciplinary teams to learn how to take an idea and turn it into a product.
In October, Seguban got a small taste of that. She participated in Aggies Invent: Conflict, Development and Social Entrepreneurship, where her team was awarded an honorable mention for its elephant warning system.
Through research, the group learned that elephants create seismic waves in the ground when they walk. By designing a device that could detect those waves and pinpoint the elephant’s location, the lives of people — and elephants — could be saved. The challenge focused specifically on Botswana, where elephants frequently trample people, and as a result, are frequently killed to eliminate danger.
Seguban’s team came up with an idea to design a device that could detect those seismic waves in the ground and warn people that danger is near. The team is now taking its invention to the next level and recruiting more students to develop a prototype that will eventually go to market.
Seguban, who once considered a career in journalism, serves on the marketing team for the University Honors Community Council, giving her the opportunity to use communications skills she learned in her high school yearbook class.
Then there is the Philippine Student Association, which allows her to mingle with other Filipino students while she is away from her family in Washington. Seguban is also a member of Engineering Honors and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and attends workshops provided by Women in Engineering. She recently traveled to Sugar Land, Texas, to volunteer with other SWE members at the Bel Inizio 5K to benefit disadvantaged women.
When asked if she’s involved in other groups, Seguban pauses for several seconds to think.
“I think that’s it,” she says, laughing.
The benefits
Juggling so many activities isn’t easy, but Seguban said it can be done. Next semester, she plans to increase her course load. She’ll probably cut back a little on some of her extracurricular activities and focus more on her studies then, she said.
In the meantime, Seguban is enjoying the ride and making the most of her freshman year.